Estate Planning is not just for the Rich Even persons with small to moderate estates stand to lose greatly without the proper estate planning. Estate planning is often thought of as tax reduction, but there are other considerations that may be even worse. Loss of Privacy, family quarrels, excessive probate costs, costly guardianship, exposure to potential creditors, unintended consequences are all just some of the non-tax considerations that can have disastrous results and which can usually be avoided or lessened with the proper estate planning. Even with a proper will, your assets become public record exposing your loved ones to exploitation by all sorts of unscrupulous predators. With some precautions, your property can remain confidential and pass to those who you intended without the whole world knowing. Often there is a concern that relatives and loved ones will quarrel over an inheritance. Without the proper estate planning, this becomes far more likely and the result could be that the wrong people get the money and those intended to receive get nothing. Probate in Texas with a will is not too bad. But if there is property outside of Texas or if the will was not correctly done, probate can be a nightmare. Homemade wills are rarely a solution and usually cause even more problems. History is replete with examples of strangers receiving everything and the true intended beneficiaries receiving nothing but a bill for legal services. The right estate planning can not only avoid problems and pitfalls, but can usually avoid probate altogether. Even with a will, if a person becomes disabled or incapacitated, it often becomes necessary to create a guardianship. If guardianship is not avoided through prudent estate planning the result can be costly legal entanglements throughout the remaining lifetime of the person and a will cannot avoid this, but there are other methods. Most folks think that life insurance proceeds are tax-free. This is only half-true. While there may be no income tax on life insurance proceeds payable by reason of death, they are still subject to the estate tax. For example, if someone died this year with a million dollars in life insurance and just a few other assets and didn't have things set up right, there could potentially be an estate tax of 41% on all of his other assets. Yet life insurance can be the greatest of tax shelters. If set up properly, millions of dollars can pass tax-free. An elderly citizen gave her principal asset, property worth $80,000, to her children. When the children sold it later they had to pay $16,000 in taxes. Taxes had proper estate panning been utilized: $-0- Another elderly citizen left her entire estate to her late husband's family, the only family she knew. Because the will was homemade and not properly done: final score (after 14 years): husband's family: -0-; strangers: $150,000; lawyers $80,000; genealogy researchers: $70,000. Bank accounts and the way that they are set up can undercut a will and though a  person may have taken great pains to have a proper will, it may be worth less than the paper it was printed on because of a box that got checked at the bank. Don't be a victim! Make sure that your wishes are respected. Seek competent advice.